The Panama Canal is "bursting at the seams"

The capacity of the Panama Canal is almost exhausted. Hundreds of vessels have accumulated on both sides, as Asia is forced to buy oil from new suppliers due to the Iranian war.

"The volume of crude oil and petroleum products passing through the Panama Canal increased by more than 70% in April compared to last year's level. The actual closure of the Strait of Hormuz forced Asian buyers to urgently try to secure supplies from the United States," the Japanese Nikkei writes.

According to him, in April, up to 1.77 million barrels of oil and petroleum products passed through the Panama Canal daily. Thus, Asian buyers compensated for the stoppage of exports from The Persian Gulf.

The main flow of oil comes from the United States and, for example, Japan has increased purchases by more than five times. And it seems to have reached the limit.

"Now the capacity of this route is almost exhausted, large queues of ships are accumulating there," Nikkei writes.